Jim has been an inspiration for a long time. He was also a really gracious guy when I met him in 1995 when he was playing in Boston with Ahmad Jamal. Sadly for me, he didn't then and doesn't now seem to be playing the Alembic all that much in that situation. He played it for one solo and that was it. All the rest was upright, which, of course, is a treat to hear. Apparently he has his own band in the Chicago area. I bet it's pretty smoking.